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Contact: Julie Navejar
kajam03@tamuk.edu or 361-593-2590

Former football coach Gene Stallings to deliver commencement address

KINGSVILLE (July 20, 2005) — More than 350 students will cross the stage at 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5, at Texas A&M University-Kingsville’s Steinke Physical Education Center during summer commencement.

Among those receiving their degrees, 176 will earn bachelor’s degrees and 175 will accept master’s degrees. There are nine doctoral candidates.

Gene Stallings, a new member of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Kay Clayton, provost, will preside over the ceremony.

Ricardo Barrera, president of the Student Government Association, will present the Distinguished Student Awards. Sam Newton, president of the Javelina Alumni Association, will give a university ring to one graduate during the ceremony. A student is selected each semester after applications are accepted.

Lt. Col. Mark Sansing, military science professor, will commission one ROTC cadet – Maricela Trevino Cantu. She also is a distinguished military graduate.

Stallings was recently appointed to the Board of Regents for The Texas A&M University System. His term will expire in 2011. He received a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University.

He began his football-coaching career at the University of Alabama as an assistant coach in 1958. In 1965, he accepted the head coaching position at his alma mater, Texas A&M University. In 1972, Stallings took his career to the professional ranks when he joined coaching legend Tom Landry and the Dallas Cowboys.

Stallings made his head-coaching debut with the Saint Louis Cardinals of the National Football League in 1986. In 1990, he returned to college ball when he was named Alabama’s 22 nd head football coach. In seven years, Stalling led the Crimson Tide to one National Championship, one SEC Championship, four SEC Western Division titles and six post-season bowl appearances.

He spent 14 years as a college head coach with an overall record of 97-61-2. Twenty of his former players have gone on to play in the NFL.

Stallings now serves on the board of Tandy Brand Corporation, People’s National Bank of Paris, Paris Regional Medical Center, the Texas Rangers, Disability Resources, St. Joseph Hospital of Paris and the Great Southern Wood Corporation. He is a trustee of Abilene Christian University and a board member of the Boys Club of Paris.

He is an inductee into the Alabama and Texas Sports Halls of Fame and a member of the Texas A&M University Hall of Fame, the Gator Bowl Hall of Fame and the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame.

Stallings has received numerous awards both in and out of coaching including the All Sports Association’s Legend’s Award in 2001 and the Distinguished Alumnus of Texas A&M University in 2000.

This page last updated 22 July, 2005